Readers' comments

To an old Liberia hand who fears that Liberia is not out of the woods, your article is encouraging. It is not too early to start worrying about identifying a worthy successor for Ms. Sirleaf, who was phenomenally suited for the task of cleaning up the Taylor mess. Tubman started to integrate Liberia's population elements too late, and died prematurely to leave the task to inadequate successors, the Tubmans. Ideally, Ms. Sirleaf should be persuaded to accept another four years. Liberia has few 21st-century people of her quality.

One month ago I traveled through Liberia and saw the situation firsthand. I also traveled through all its neighbors, including Sierra Leone and Guinea, so I have something to compare it to. The situation in Liberia is currently extremely positive, as the article reports. Corruption, at least for the masses, is lower than in any other country in the region. In driving through the afore-mentioned countries, being pulled aside to pay bribes is the norm. Unfortunately, these positive developments are in fact a direct cause of the UN presence. The UN is ubiquitous; you cannot walk down the street without seeing a UN vehicle, and everywhere, including the countryside, has regiments from foreign countries. As the UN police told me, if a Liberian police officer demands a bribe, one need only go to the nearest UN personal to report the act and action will be taken immediately. The good behavior cannot be deemed permanent in any way. As a UN military observer said, "the policemen today were farmers yesterday". I did not stay long enough to know whether or not the ethnic divides that caused the devastating wars were healed, or on their way to being healed, but I can say with confidence that Liberia is in good shape right now, but without the UN would not be.

mccoul
"Ms Sirleaf should be persuaded to run another four-year term."
Your comment is wrong on a few points, the first being that Ms Sirleaf is not the only person qualified to lead Liberians through the reconstruction process. Secondly, the current terms of the President and the Congress- as stipulated in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement- are six years for the President and representatives and nine years for senators. Your comment goes to the core of the problem that has long faced Liberia since the day of independence- certain individuals or group believing that they are ones capable of leading Liberia.

While it is true that there has been relative peace through out the country and freedom of the press; these advances, however, cannot be attributed to the Johnson-Sirleaf's administration. As stated in your artilce, the international community has helped enormously support and sustain her administration. The United Nations Peace Keeping Force, which is the primary security force in Liberia, is currently the largest in the world, her cabinets departments daily functions are scrutinized by internaitional experts embedded in them by way of GEMAP, and not to mention the many goals set by the IMF and World Bank that she must attain in order to keep international aid flowing. Yet, despite all of these measures, members of her administration (and she herself is sometimes implicated)still manage to defraud, embezzle, award no bid contracts and falsely imprison those they perceive as threat or simply for revenge. But the number one reason that she doesn't deserve any credit, Sir, is that she is one of- if not THE reason- that Liberia is in the situation that it is in today. This woman stopped at nothing to get where she is today; from assassination attempt to coup d'etat and from challenging a former adversary and an apprentice at the ballot box to an all-out brutal and barbaric civil confict that threatened the stability of an entire region. All to get where is today. But in due time, those bodies and skeletons in her closet will begin to wreak a stench that even she herself would not able to tolerate.

DynCorp is only Training the military, although it's got a small contract to equip the Emergency Reaction Unit, which is part of the Liberian National Police. The police were trained by, what was then, the UN's CIVPOL programme: this is now UNPOL. As recognised by many Liberians, this is part of the problem: a lack of coordination and standardisation between the various contributing nations' personnel.The security situation needs to be adequately addressed if Liberia is to continue to make headway. Dealing with the 'reformed' LNP (whose officers have been caught taking part in armed robberies) should be a priority of Ellen's administration.

Who would have imagined Sierra Leone where it is now after the early 1990s’ war?
If it has to show anything; it is that the UN and uncorrupted Africans leader can achieve great thing!
This is a good omen for future.